Adam whispered, “Phil, last night was...…okay...…but it could’ve better. And that challenge about writing notes and taping them to your feet...…well, that was kind of goofy. No one will do it. You won’t even do it. You’ll never follow through with doing that for forty days... are you crazy?!? You don’t have the discipline or the time to make that happen. Just quit while you’re ahead.”

When Adam finished talking, I reached for the closest pens and paper.

Then I wrote Adam’s name big and bold. Then taped it to the bottom of my shoe and began my day...…stepping a little heavier and harder of course crushing Adam’s voice beneath my feet : ) ​

Who do you love? I want you to imagine voices telling that person or those people whom you love,what they tell you.

How would you react?

When I imagine those kinds of voices in the heads of my boys… telling them all sorts of lies about themselves… I get angry.Let me assure you, there isn’t a chance that those voices would be louder than mine. I would speak up, shouting over them, telling my boys not to listen to them…then I imagine loving myself that same way.

Love others as you love yourself, right? It begins with you, then spills over onto others.

Love yourself...…do something about those voices...those damning, repetitive voices that accuse you and shame you and paralyze you and rob you from living your life as your true self.

Yesterday was the beginning of a holy tradition called Lent, known first and foremost as a time when you remove something from your life for the 40 days leading up to Easter. And right around the corner is Valentine’s day, a time when we demonstrate love to others.

Let’s FLIP both traditions! Let’s demonstrate love to OURSELVES by ADDING a practice to our daily lives that will help silence the inner voices like Adam.

For the next 40 days, whenever you hear a voice that “compares” you in a demeaning, stifling, belittling, paralyzing, shameful, degrading way,

write it down…give it a name (if you want)…or call it by what it is (shame, fear, etc.)…

and once it’s out of your head and onto the paper,put it where it belongs... beneath your feet!

Tape it to the bottom of your foot or shoe and walk all over it...…smash it...…crush it!!!

Until next time friends,

My hope for you is that over these next 40 days you will quite literally step your way toward loving yourself more as you smash and walk all over the voices in your head that beat you down and make you shrink.

May you sing and dance and join in with the divine song of truth carrying us forward in this story we find ourselves in. May you listen for the music and hear the melody in everything, everywhere… through all hearts...…and through all things.

And as you play in tune through living grace and generosity and peace and patience and love, may you truly be set FREE...…

FREE from death by comparison. FREE to love yourself. FREE to walk all over those life-robbing, joy-stealing, repetitive voices.FREE to be YOU!!!